Spectacle case



Sept 1 N43 w. R. CHURCHILL. 5

SPEGTACLE CASE Filed Dec. 17, 1940 Malay Q. Camera/u,

M'VE/YTOQG f STAT E s {or r ce SPECTAGLECASE v Wesley E. Ghurchill, Hollywood, Calif. r ApplicationDecember 1119 Serial Nae-70,451 2' Claims. ,(01. 206-6) l This invention relates :to' a spectacle case. 7 When spectacles arei'supplied to a'patient by anoptician or thelike they. are usually placed in -a spectacle case, Whichis intended to prevent the breakage of the glasses. In; actual practice, howeveniit-has been found that when the case is dropped or violently jarred the glasses may break, and quite often a complaint is made atoith e optici'ancharging that the glasses were improperly made or mounted, with the result that expensive replacements-must be made often by the Optician in order; to satisfyv the customer. It is also found-that when spectacleszand other .types of eye-glassesare placed'withina case the convexed surfaces of the lensesb'ear againstthe bottom of the case. This tends to scratch the surface and to; mar the polish of theilenses. It is the :principalobject of the present invention to provide ,a simple and ;ineXpensive spectacle case into and out of which spectacles and other types of eye-glasses may be instantly positioned or removed, the structure gripping the spectacles to hold them rigidly within the case, and at'the 1 same time to support the-'lensesout of contactwith the walls-of the case, whereby scratching {might take place or impact with the walls be Itransmi-tted to the lensesltendinggto break the same;

' The present invention contemplates a; provision of the-usualspectacle casehaving a lower portion -forming'a receptacle for the spectacles andfa hinged cover therefor, the structure-in- ,clu'ding rigid seats along one edge of the receptacle portion ;and{ yieldable means providing seats along-theopposite edge of :the receptacle,- whereby the fixed and .yieldable seats willreceive and support thejlenses of a .pair 'of spectacles,

veye-glasses, or the-like which may be placed therein! 7 I The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in'which:

Figure l tis a view in perspective showing :one form of the invention. indicating. a pair of spectacles in place therein.

Fig. 2 is anenlargedylew 1n transversesec- Qtion taken through-the spectacle-case, as seen 1 .on the line-"2+2: cf Fig. 1-, and indicating. the

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manner in which a lens ;is gripped, and sup- Fig. 4 is a View in perspective showing the pair of gyieldable seats and the spring means supr qri st v me-vl V F -his ew-in. P pect ve hu n len ther' form Of-yieldable lens. seat and its individual spring support.

Referring more particularlyto the drawing, l9

tially parallel tothe bottom wall I l and is spaced therefrom a distance sufficient to vaccommodate theforward' edges-oiwthelenses lfi ota spectacle ornose piece structure ll. The inner face ofthe 'containerthus iorniedis preferably covered-with a:cushion layer'of-fabric it, such'as velvet. The outer face of the container walls is preferably covered witha layer..,l9--of leather or they like. Formed: along-the :upper marginal edge of the rear wall portion !2 is a hinge structure 2% by which a lid '2! isarticulately connected to the container; It. :Itwill beunderstood that the lid 21 may be covered on itsinner face with fabric .25 [I 3 and omits outer face with leather l9.

- The foregoing construction descrlbes .a con ventional type of spectacle case by Way of example. It'is understood that various other designs of c-asesmay be provided if desired. In

the use of these casesthe spectacles or the like 'arefplaced-within the receptacle portion H with theJlower edges of thelenses extending into the space 22 which occurs between the bottom Wall I land the flange 15. This flange acts-topre- ,vent the' spectacles from falling out of. the case accidentally when the li'dfis opened It will be recognized, however, that the spectaclesswhen so placed in a'case must rest directly upon the floor I l of the case, and that since there is some necessary space required .on all sides of'the spectacles, thespectaclesor nose glasses may .be 'jostled around in the case. This may result in breaking the-lenses. .It is theprincipal object of the present invention, therefore, to provide means withinYthe case for quickly engagingthe spectaclesland.ion-firmly holding them so that theyfwill be held inspaced relation to the walls of thereceptacle and its lid and will beheld so that they cannot be'jostled around in the case whenit is closed.

The structurev provided for holding the spectacles comprises a pair of fixed saddle elements 23 an diapai-r oi' yieldable saddle elements 24.

irom-sheetmetal and are Ll-shaped, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. These saddle elements are preferably covered with some soft material 25' and 3 that the saddles are spaced from the bottom wall I I This is in order to support the concaved faces of the lenses out of contact with the Disposed in spaced covering on the floor II relation to the relatively fixed saddles 23 are the may be grasped by a bridge piece 35, after which the lower edges of the lenses l6,are brought to register with the saddles 24. The bridge piece and the lenses may then be forced toward the end wall I3 and toward a position beneath the flange l5 until the spring legs 34 or the spring legs 21 are sufficiently fiexed to permit the upper edges of the lenses to be seated within the relatively fixed saddles 23. Pressure on the bridge is then. released, at which timethe resilient legs will act through the saddles 24 to force the lenses upwardly into a positively set position within the saddles 23. Attention is directed to the fact that due to the spacing of the saddles 23 from the bottom wall I I of the receptacle and from the lid 2| of the caseand similar spacing of the yield- I able saddles 24 as determined by the undulations saddles 24. These are yieldably mounted to cooperate with the saddles 23 while engaging the diametrically opposite side of a lens from that seated within the saddle 23. U-shaped in cross-section and aremounted upon spring supporting means. This supporting mean's may be either a single support for one saddle, as shown in Fig. 5, or a double support for the two necessary saddles 24, as shown in Fig. 4. The single support shown in Fig. 5 comprises a leg ZI-made of suitable spring wire and having a downwardly extending undulation 28. A continuation of the spring wire forms a leg 29, the wire having been bent upon itself to provide a coil 30 having an eye 3 l through which a mounting pin 32 may extend.

In the use of theform of the invention shown in Fig. 5 two of the structures are provided arranged to extend in opposite directions and to cooperate with the fixed saddles 23, in which event the legs 29 will rest against the wall l3 and will yieldably resist flexure of the leg 21.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 4 a continuous springwire is provided having a coiled loop 33 intermediate its ends and spring legs 34 extending oppositely therefrom. The legs 34 are disposed at an obtuse angle to each other and will fiex toward a line parallel to thejfor Ward wall l3 of the receptacle) when spectacles are positioned against thesaddles.

It is to be understood that the saddles 23 and 24 may be covered with material in order to protect the edges of the lenses or that-the saddles themselves may be of non-metallic material which will providea yieldable seat for the lenses.

The legs 34 are formed withspacing undulations 28' which extend downwardly. These elements rest against the floor portion of the case and support they saddle members 24 at a sufficient distance above the floor II so that the lenses 16 will not at any time contact the walls of the case. V

In operation of the present invention the case may be constructed with the 'unitary spring structure carrying the saddles 24, as shown'in' Fig. 4, or the separate springs shown in Fig. 5. It is also to be understood that the fixed saddles '23 may be either formed separately, as shown in Fig. 2, or struck from the case, as shown in Fig. 3. In any event, fixed saddles 23 will be disposed along one edge of the receptacle portion I0 of the case and. yieldable'saddlesfl will be disposed along the opposite edge and in spaced aligned relation to the saddles 23. This insures that a saddle 2'3 and a saddle 24 may' cooperate to receive and grip a lens l6 yieldablytherebetween. Thus, when it is desired to place a pair of spectacles'or nose glasses within the'case they These saddles are 28, the lenses will be held in spaced relation to the lid and the bottom wall H and will prevent the spectacles from being jostled around in the case or from an impact blow delivered to the wall of the case to be transmitted to the lenses.

It will thus be seen thatthe structure here disclosed provides simple and effective means for insuring against breakage of lenses and for holding lenses of spectacles and eye-glassesin a man ner to prevent them from becoming scratched or marred, the structure including means easily incorporated within the design'andconstruction of spectacle cases as now made, while maintaining a sightly appearance for the case and while using means which are not-complicated and may be actuated incidentto the same motions now followed in placing spectacles in a case andremoving them therefrom.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known to me, it'will be understood that various changes may be made in combination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed.

Having thus described my inventiohQwhat I claim and desire'to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a spectacle holder, a pair of spaced, relatively fixed saddle members spaced from the surface of said holder "and spaced in relation to eachother along one" edge of the holder, a pair of movable saddle members mounted along the opposite edge of the holder and in complementary spaced 'relation to the fixed saddle members, said movable saddle members being spaced from the surface of the holder, and separate flexible means yieldably holding the movable saddle members and urging said saddle members toward the fixed saddle members.

2. In combination with a spectacle holder, a pair of relatively fixed saddle members spaced .from the surface of said holder and spaced in relationto each other along one edge of the holder, a pairof movable saddle members mounted along the opposite edge of the holder and in complementary spaced relation to the fixed saddle members, means holding the movable saddle membersin spaced relation to the surface of the holder, and flexible means-yieldably holding the movable saddle membersand urging said saddle members toward the fixed saddle members, the saddle members being U-shaped in cross' section to embrace marginal edges of the spectacles;

i 3. In combination with a spectacle case having a receptacle portion and a lid, the receptacle being formed with a bottom-wall and marginal side and end walls, the lid being hinged to one side wall, a pair of U-shaped relatively-fixed-saddle members disposed adjacent to the side wall bearing the lid, grooves in said saddle members lying in a plane substantially parallel to the bottom wall and spaced therefrom, said saddle members being spaced longitudinally apart a distance substantially equal to the center-to-center distance of spectacle lenses, a pair of movable saddle members complementary to the fixed saddle members and grooved to receive the opposite marginal edges of lenses from the edges seated in the relatively fixed saddle members, yieldable l0 spring members mounted within the receptacle and carrying the movable saddle members yield- 

